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Ab exercises target the abdominal and core muscles. The abdominal muscles are one of the most important muscle groups in the body, as they contribute to movement and back stability.
These muscles are part of the core, so strengthening them has numerous benefits. A strong core can help prevent back pain, poor posture, and weak limbs. The core is responsible for keeping the body straight, upright, and strong.
Below, we will look at some basic ab exercises that can help work the muscles of the core.
Ab Exercises for Belly Fat
Check out the following five ab exercises that can help you melt your belly bulge.
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1) Plank
If ever there were an exhaustive list of ab exercises that can help you melt belly fat, the plank would definitely be at the top.
Core strength, coordination, balance, stamina, muscle strength - is there anything this excellent exercise cannot do?
Instructions:
- Lie face down on the floor with your forearms and toes, and assume the plank position.
- Engage your abdominal muscles, and pull your belly button towards your spine.
- Keep your body in a straight line from your ears to toes without any sagging or bending. This is the neutral position of the spine.
- Maintain this position for ten seconds. Drop to the floor.
- Work up to holding the plank pose for 30, 45, or 60 seconds over time.
2) Mountain Climber
Done the plank? Cursed us? Well, here's some more coming your way. The mountain climbers ab exercise can make the plank seem like easy picking. This fat-burning core exercise can leave your heart racing and face flushed.
Instructions:
- Assume a plank position, balancing your bodyweight between your hands and feet.
- Make sure your hands are about shoulder-width apart; back is flat; abs are engaged, and head is in a neutral position.
- Get as close as you can to bringing your right knee up to your chest.
- Switch legs, and extend one knee while bringing the other knee in.
- Keep your hips low, and run your knees in and out as quickly and far as you can.
- Breathe in and out at random intervals as you switch legs.
3) Russian Twist
This ab exercise is essential if you're looking for a flat belly and ultra thin waist. This exercise targets the obliques unlike any other exercise, and what's more - you can increase the intensity too.
When you're done with bodyweight Russian twists, you can practice it with medicine balls, dumbbells or kettlebells.
Instructions:
- Take a seat on the floor, with your knees bent slightly.
- Form a V shape with your thighs and torso by angling your spine at 45 degrees.
- Bring your arms forward, twisting your body to the right with your abdominals.
- Bring your body to the center, and twist your abdominals on the opposite side.
- Repeat.
4) Hanging Leg Raise
If you want to go the extra mile, this is the ab exercise for it. It can be done at home or in the gym, and you can do it with a doorframe or a pull-up bar.
To start: locate a sturdy object, such as a pull-up bar. You will also require some breathing room. You don't need to have enough space to swing back and forth, but it helps to make sure you don't hit anything when going up and down.
Instructions:
- Hang from the bar lightly with both feet suspended in the air.
- Lift both legs up till they're parallel to the floor.
- Hold the position for five seconds before slowly lowering them down till they're fully extended but still resting against a support.
- Repeat this motion as many times as you can in ten minutes.
5) Bicycle Crunch
The bicycle crunch is second only to the captain's chair in terms of activating the rectus abdominis, upper abdominal muscle, and obliques - the side abdominal muscles. As you're raising your legs, you're also engaging the transverse abdominis, a deep ab muscle that's difficult to target.
Instructions:
- Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and lower back pressed to the ground. Your feet should be flat on the ground, and hands should be behind your head.
- To stabilize your spine, contract your core muscles, and draw in your abdomen.
- Pull your shoulder blades back, and slowly raise your knees to a 90-degree angle, lifting your feet off the floor, with your hands gently holding your head.
- Exhale and, at first, slowly pedal like a bicycle, bringing one knee up towards your armpit while straightening the other, keeping both elevated higher than your hips.
- Rotate your torso so that the elbow touches the opposite knee as it rises.
- Twist to the other side while drawing that knee towards your armpit and extending the other leg till your elbow touches the alternate knee.
- Aim for 12 to 20 repetitions per set and three sets total.
Takeaway
Performing the aforementioned ab exercises regularly can help melt belly fat, build a strong core, and get those shiny abs you desire.
